Kazakhstan looks to Russia for help, not China

As the nation starts bailing out its banks, it needs to find other strategic investors. So far, it has started by engaging in talks with the Russians.

Earlier this week Kazakhstan showed its hand as leaning more towards its old Communist self, than as a Central Asian state that might turn East, to China, for help.

Kazakhstan took over its biggest lender, BTA, and also began negotiations with Russia to sell assets. The nation's Samruk-Kazyna, the sovereign wealth fund handling bank bailouts, said it would buy 78.14% of BTA for $2.06 billion. This priced BTA at 0.2% of its book value.